Undergraduate training in neonatal resuscitation -- a modified approach.

On one day in January 1993 in Pondicherry India prior to rounds in the labor room professors trained 50 final year undergraduate medical students at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research in neonatal resuscitation using a modified program of the neonatal advanced life support course. They compared their results with those from students in the March-April 1992 multiday course which occurred after some students had finished their labor room rounds. In 1992 the pretest was administered after the theory lectures while in 1993 it was administered before the course including the theory lectures began. The 1992 students scored significantly higher on the pretest than did the 1993 students (e.g. score of 11-20 73.3% vs. 0%; p < .001). There was essentially no difference in posttest scores between the 2 groups however. All the 1993 students did the resuscitation procedure on the mannequin on their own. 92% rated the content of the program and use of audiovisual aids to be optimum. The same percentage wanted the neonatal advanced life support program to last one day. About 33% wanted a short respite between lectures. The students identified the following messages to be important: early identification of the high risk neonate correct resuscitation techniques and use and misuse of drugs during resuscitation. They all considered the training to be adequate informative and applicable to real life during their labor room rounds and later as a basic physician. These findings indicated that the modified neonatal advanced life support course was effective and that professors should conduct it for all final year medical students before the student begin labor room rounds ideally in one day.